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Mystery of the buckling wall

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

Q: My parents' house, built in 1962, has an exterior stucco wall that, over the past few years, has buckled about 1 1/2 feet from the ground. There is a poured concrete perimeter foundation and about 2 feet of crawl space. All of the interior walls that are perpendicular to the buckled wall have started to gap where they meet.

It is horrifying, and I don't know where to start. Whom do I hire to diagnose this problem? What company fixes such a mess? And how do I even know that I'm getting a reasonable estimate for the job? more...

Flue foils kitchen remodel

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 5, 2009.

Q: Our house, built in 1931, has a traditional fireplace in the living room, but there is also what appears to be a slim brick fireplace in the kitchen -- although I can't see where the opening was -- it appears to be more of a brick flue from floor to ceiling.

Are you familiar with this type of thing? The flue does exit the roof like a traditional chimney and we have it capped to keep out rain and protect against embers and sparks. But it is blocking us from opening up the kitchen the way we'd like.

I don't know that it should be completely removed, but it would somehow have to be sealed somewhere -- between the kitchen's ceiling and the home's roof, perhaps? more...

Work without a permit, get burned

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

Several weeks ago we responded to a reader's question about possibly removing a fireplace in her 1920s Oakland house.

She made it clear she was going to hire this job out, but wanted our opinion on what we thought of the idea. We gave her the pros and cons as we saw them and also gave her a primer on what might be involved should she decide to take the plunge. more...

Maintaining a tar-and-gravel roof

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Thursday, July 23, 2009.

Q: When you were writing about roof repair and replacement, I never saw anything on tar-and-gravel roofs.

I just bought a house. At my prepurchase inspection, I was told the roof was in pretty good condition but that I might want to go up, add gravel and rake it around for maintenance. I have no clue how old the roof is, but I've had no problems.

I've noticed a good amount of gravel now on the ground at the mouth of several downspouts. If I get up on the roof, what should I look for and how much gravel should I add? more...

Do-it-yourself fix for squeaky floors

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

Q: My partner and I have lived for four years in the upstairs flat of a two-story San Francisco Victorian built in 1912. We own the building.

I bought a heavy studio piano about 15 months ago that had to be wheeled down a 14-foot hallway to get to its new home. The professional movers brought it in on a short piano dolly. A few months after the piano arrived, the wood flooring in the hallway started to creak. It now creaks and squeaks a lot, and when I walk on it with bare feet, I can feel the ridges of some of the boards.

The flooring in the room the piano was moved into, where the path would have been mainly diagonal to the boards, squeaks a little but may have before. The floorboards are 2 inches wide. more...

Fireplace teardown raises resale issue

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, July 8, 2009.

Q: I live in a 900-square-foot house in East Oakland, Calif., built around the 1920s. I'd like to remove my fireplace. My living room is very small and has only one open/available wall, which faces east. The front wall faces the street to the north and is all window. Then there is the wall with the fireplace (west), which is flanked by awning windows, and the third wall (south) opens entirely into the dining room, with beveled-arch corners.

I need another surface for art/decorations, or perhaps there is a flat-screen TV in my distant future. With only one wall to work with, demolishing the fireplace would add value to the room/house. The wall already needs significant plaster work that's going to take it down to the lath to be repaired. I figure whenever I get that done, I could have the fireplace removed. In the four-plus years I have lived here, I've fired up the fireplace twice. What are your thoughts regarding value lost or gained? more...

'Bubbling' drywall be gone

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

Q: I used hot water to remove old wallpaper in a bedroom, which caused "bubbling" or blistering of the drywall. Apparently, I used too much moisture and seem to have lifted the texture on the drywall. Do I scrape it and apply new texture and if so, what is the best method? It is affecting only parts of two walls in the bedroom and would not involve the whole walls, just areas. What is the best method to go about this?

A: Making holes in walls while removing wallpaper is part of the job. Getting the wallpaper off is only the beginning, as you're about to find out. You're right; wetting the walls caused the bubbling. The paper "skin" of the drywall became saturated and released from the gypsum core. The fix will take some work, but it's relatively simple. more...

Easy fix for water hammer

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

Once again it's time to empty the question bag. Today it's a bit of a hodgepodge. Water and electricity usually don't go together, but today is the exception.

Q: We must have air in our plumbing pipes, because every time we turn them on and then shut them off there is a big bang. After searching online for "air in pipes," I have discovered that we have a water hammer problem. The loud noise occurs only when we shut off any sink, or the dishwasher stops. Do you have simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to get rid of the water hammer?

A: Maybe. Water hammer is hydraulic shock. It's the sudden increase in water pressure in the pipes when there is a change in the direction or velocity of the water. more...

Load-bearing walls and remodel fears

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

Q: I want to take down the wall separating my kitchen and dining room. How do I find out if it's a load-bearing wall and if it would be OK to do this? Who should I call to answer this question at a reasonable cost? Should I call an expensive structural engineer or a licensed remodeling contractor? Hopefully not an architect ... they cost a small fortune!

A: An architect is not required and a structural engineer is probably overkill. An experienced licensed remodeling contractor should be able to provide this information. more...

Rotted rafters: repair or replace?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, June 10, 2009.

Q: I have a house built in the late 1970s that has large beams exposed beyond the roofline. After more than 30 years of neglect and exposure there is a good deal of dry rot in them. I think I should have them repaired or replaced.

Is it something I can do, which, considering my lack of construction skills, I seriously doubt, or should I hire a contractor to do the work? Will it be really expensive? Once it is done, how do I keep it from happening again?

A: The bad news is you're right. The exposed beams should be repaired or replaced. The good news is that there's no hurry. more...

Refinish oak table like a pro

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

Q: We picked up a nice old oak table at an estate sale recently. Could you point us in a direction where we could find information on possibly sanding and/or varnishing the top or should this be left to professionals?

A: Unless you think you've got a candidate for the "Antiques Road Show," this is a perfect job for the do-it-yourselfer. If it is an antique, we suggest you leave it alone until you can find out what you've got. more...

Dual-pane windows: replace or repair?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

Q: I've read your recent column about windows and have some related questions.

I have dual-pane windows whose cells have "leaked" and the inside surfaces are discolored. They are installed in traditional wood frames and are easy to remove. They have a metal/plastic composite spacer frame at the edge, sealed with some sort of black mastic. I have a number of cells that were replaced under warranty when water leaked inside and would like to see if I can rehab them. more...

Electrical outlets that put safety first

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Q: I was hoping you guys could tell your readers what the benefits would be in installing GFCI electrical outlets even if there is no grounding wire. There are probably many homeowners who would be willing to install GFCIs themselves but who aren't able to install a grounding wire or are unwilling to pay an electrician to install one. I purchased a package of three that came with little stickers to put on the outlet if it is not grounded.

Maybe you could suggest the best locations to install them (bathroom, by kitchen sink, by laundry tub)? more...

No-fuss wallpaper removal

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, May 13, 2009.

Q: Do you know the best way to remove wallpaper that's about 20 or 30 years old? I just bought a house that has old-time country wallpaper in the kitchen, and I really don't like it. Besides, they didn't do a very good job putting it up in the first place. more...

Goodbye popcorn ceiling, hello drywall

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

Q: My husband and I live in a high-rise condo on Russian Hill in San Francisco, which we bought in 1975 and have updated over the years. However we have not tackled the popcorn ceiling problem.

The contractor who remodeled the building's lobby a few years ago is going to upgrade our apartment (replace carpet with tile), and we broached the subject of the ceiling with him. more...

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